Last weekend was the 4th time my sister Kerri and I toured Milwaukee for this annual weekend event. Our friends Kate & Dave joined us for their second year, and Andrew had his first tour on Sunday. We didn't see as many buildings this year and had a few repeats, but it was still a fun weekend.

Doors Open Milwaukee is a two-day public celebration of Milwaukee’s art, architecture, culture and history. This event offers behind the scenes tours of more than 150 buildings throughout Milwaukee’s downtown and neighborhoods and in-depth tours led by community leaders. Doors Open sites include commercial properties, sacred spaces, apartment buildings, breweries, art galleries, community gardens and more stretching from downtown to the surrounding suburbs, and the neighborhoods between. The sixth-annual Doors Open Milwaukee, held on September 17 and 18, 2016, attracted more than 31,600 attendees who made 138,680 site visits to unique places throughout Milwaukee.

Historic Milwaukee is proud to share our decades of architecture and history expertise with a growing audience of curious Milwaukeeans and visitors through Doors Open. Doors Open was brought to Milwaukee by Historic Milwaukee tour guide and local librarian, George Wagner. Doors Open is part of the international Open House concept, and aligns with the mission of the Open House Worldwide movement to showcase outstanding architecture for all to experience. These initiatives invite everyone to explore and understand the value of a well-designed built environment. Doors Open Milwaukee is now the 4th most highly attended Open House-type event worldwide, following Chicago, London, and Toronto.

Doors Open Milwaukee’s goals:

Showcase the architecture and community stories of Milwaukee’s downtown and culturally diverse neighborhoodsRaise awareness of the critical role design plays in a vibrant and livable cityWelcome exploration and improve perception of new neighborhoodsFoster pride in Milwaukee and the built environment